Fire
by Kazie Solo
Summary: Fire. The evolution of heat and light by combustion. The symbol of courage, passion, destruction and death. Two people with fragile, scarred hearts reflect on its significance whether it means so much more, or not so much anymore. [Schneider x Misanagi]
1. She

_Fire. The evolution of heat and light by combustion. The symbol of courage and passion. The symbol of destruction and death. But to a certain young woman with a fragile, scarred heart... it means so much more._

Fire.

Fire had never been anything special to me.

Until that day.

Until that one moment transpired between us.

And ever since then, I had been found by my comrades staring at the dancing flames without missing a single day --- whether it was a bonfire, or merely an ignition from a match's tip --- for no reason in particular. Or so they believed, because most of them never mustered the courage to ask me about it. Those who actually managed to do so never got the appropriate answer, just the two-word, "No reason."

Fire was fascinating, yes.

Special.

But the person who it symbolized was the most fascinating one of all.

The most special one of all.

He had much hope for the future, and he shared to me that hope he held. He believed in me even though we didn't know each other very well, and he gave me confidence when I couldn't seem to have faith in myself. He cherished the simplest things and smiled at the smallest happiness-inducing situations, and his easygoing nature made me smile as well.

And most of all, he saved my life.

That one moment wrapped everything our relationship had to offer in a painful fire-lined parcel --- the time we had together, the things we talked about, the unsaid feelings we had for each other. That one moment, that one moment I would've missed if I thought of blinking, made the fire in my heart burn fervently, eating up everything I felt to generate a powerful torrent of pain through my body.

It pushed me to my breaking point. It made me scream. 

_Schneider, I love you!_

I saw his face, and then...

... I saw fire.

* * *

_Were you able to guess who was the speaker before seeing the giveaway line, "Schneider, I love you!"? For those of you who haven't made it that far through the series, the speaker is Misanagi Moriya, leader of the Sanada Ninjas, who fell in love with one of the Black Knights, Second Lt. Schneider. Schneider/Misanagi is my other favorite couple aside from Sanosuke/Sayo. Anyway, please review!_

**Fire** © Kaz, 2003


	2. He

_Fire. The evolution of heat and light by combustion. The symbol of courage and passion. The symbol of destruction and death. But to a certain young man with a fragile, scarred heart... it doesn't mean so much anymore._

Fire.

Fire had always been special to me.

The emblem of courage.

Excitement.

Passion.

Love.

_Love._

"Misanagi..."

Until that day.

Until that one moment transpired between us.

And ever since then, fire had lost its significance in my life. It no longer motivated me like it used to do. It no longer inspired me, no longer made my heart burn with desire to accomplish what I thought of doing. It no longer gave me the strength to do what I should do. In fact, all it gave me... were painful memories.

Of her.

Misanagi Moriya.

Despite our cultural differences --- her being Japanese and I being German --- we had so much in common. We appreciated the same things. We enjoyed the same things. We took pleasure in the same things. Bats, for example. She had the uncanny talent of manipulating them, making the creatures of the night follow her every command... and I had the natural ability of making them come to me without getting my hand chewed off in the process. 

We could've done so much, so much more if we only had the chance.

But fire took her away from me.

That's why I dislike it.

Resent it.

_Hate_ it.

That one moment put an end to everything we ever shared --- the time we had together, the things we talked about, the unsaid feelings we had for each other. That one moment put an end to the relationship that was going on between us, the relationship that barely even started. I could've done something to prevent it, to prevent our separation, but I did not want to take the risk. Not when the the life of the woman I loved was at stake.

It made her scream. _"Schneider, I love you!"_

I turned to look at her... for the last time.

... I saw fire.

* * *

_There you have it, ladies and gentlemen, as requested, the second chapter of this fic, in Schneider's point-of-view this time. This was supposed to be a one-shot, but since you so kindly asked for a second chapter, I decided to write one just for you. I might write a third chapter, but that depends if I get the inspiration to do it. Anyway, I would like to thank you so much for your time, and I'm glad that you actually like this work of mine. Please review and let me know anything else that I should know._

_If only I knew how to put Shishio and Yumi in character, I'd write a fic for them!_

**Fire** © Kaz, 2003


	3. They

_Fire. The evolution of heat and light by combustion. The symbol of courage and passion. The symbol of destruction and death. Two people with fragile, scarred hearts discover its true significance in their lives --- through a confrontation they will never forget._

Fire.

It continued to eat up the ship that newly docked in the port.

It left the passengers on their own.

On their own, empty-handed.

"Just our luck,"a tall, young man with blonde hair muttered to himself with a closed expression before he turned to his companions --- who, like him, were empty-handed --- and smiled. "Vell, gentlemen, velcome to ze _Land of ze Rising Sun_, Japan. Quite an exotic place, isn't it?"

"Ver exactly are we?"

"I believe zis is ze place zey call _Kamakura_," he aswered thoughtfully, sweeping his gaze around the area. As he did so, however, he felt a sudden surge of pain through his heart, making him heave a sigh. _Brings back memories,_ he told himself, before he back to the conversation they were having. "See zat peak over zer? Zat's _Fujiyama_, a volcano, and ze highest---"

He stopped, turning around.

Someone was watching him.

He didn't know who.

Or where the person was.

But he was being watched.

"Hey, Schneider, vat is it?" former Lieutenant of the Black Knights, Lenz, the young man's companion at their quest to find the so-called _Divine Medicine _a year or so ago, asked, flickering his gaze casually from his friend to the spot the other was staring at. "See anyone ve know?"

"Vy, Lenz, I don't see anyone at all," Schneider retorted in a sly tone before he returned his gaze to his friends and forced a smile. "Vat are ve going to do now? It looks like ve are going to be stuck here for quite some time. Should ve leave zis place and check out ze sights?"

"Zers an inn over zer. Vy don't ve check in first before ve go on zat tour?"

The stranded soldiers took out all the money they had left, put them together, and began planning on how they were going to spend it. They thought they were going to be back at their own land in a few weeks' time, as they had been in the Marianas islands, training for the war that was taking place between their country and Austria, but the accident in the ship that caused the fire and forced them to dock in a land so far away from theirs devastated them all. All but one, that is, for one particular young man thought that the situation brought about by the fire was an opportunity rather than an obstacle.

He turned to follow the rest, who were walking towards the nearby inn, when he saw something that made him stop.

A bat.

And it landed on his oustretched hand.

Schneider examined the creature carefully for a few moments. Then, his lips parted into a smirk as he continued to look at the nocturnal being. "I should have known ze moment I saw ze spot of black in ze sky," he said, not moving his head or his body to address whoever was there to listen to him. After a while, he chuckled. "Ze vay you deal vith people still fascinates me."

She stepped out from behind a pile of crates. "I deal with people selectively."

"Vich means I'm supposed to feel special for ze treatment you're giving me?" he asked, finally turning around to come face-to-face with the leader of the Sanada Ninjas, Misanagi Moriya. The woman he loved, yet was forced to leave behind. He grinned crookedly at her. "You know, I missed ze bats."

"You left this," she said quickly, taking his hand and pushing the earpiece he had left behind during their last meeting into his palm. Afterwards, she turned around to leave, apparently hurt by his reaction to the situation. She missed him, missed him terribly, and yet all he told her was that he missed _ze bats._ Part of her whispered that he was merely kidding, but a greater part of her refused to listen to those voices.

The playful smile on his pale face faded away to give way to a soft, sincere one. "But you know vat, Misanagi?" he called out, making the young woman stop in her attempt to run away from their confrontation. "I missed ze owner of ze bats ze most. Can you please tell her zat I vish to speak to her? Zer's something I vant to tell her."

However, that stop was only for a moment.

"Hey, vait!" he exclaimed, running after her. "Misanagi, I love you!"

She stopped.

He stopped.

Slowly, she turned back around, her eyes on the ground. Her tear-stained eyes on the ground. Then, she gradually lifted her gaze on him, until she her eyes were locked on his and his locked on hers. Her features softened considerably, just like that one moment that tore them apart for a year that seemed like eternity. "Oh, Schneider," she whispered, running towards him. She then flung her arms around him. "I love you, too."

"I know," he told her, grinning crookedly once again. "But_ I _never got ze chance to tell you zat." When they pulled away from each other, he took her hand, and led her on a walk along the seashore. He was glad, very glad, that even if it had been a year --- give or take a few weeks --- nothing changed between them. They still loved each other. "How'd you know I vas here?"

Misanagi smirked. "_Ze bats._"

Meanwhile, a couple of meters behind them, back at the port, the ship that brought the German soldiers to the shores of Japan began to fall apart due to the fire that blossomed in its bosom. The people in the area began to run away, as fast as their legs would carry them, afraid to get caught in the explosion that was supposed to take place.

Out on the seashore, the waves playing with their sand-covered feet, the couple stood hand in hand, looking deep into each other's eyes.

_Boom!_

They spun around to look at what just happened, and then...

... they saw fire.

* * *

_And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the final chapter of this fanfic. As I mentioned before, this was supposed to be a one-shot, but you inspired me to work on two chapters more. Thank you very much for inspiring and supporting me on this one, you don't know how much that means to me. I completed another Rurouni Kenshin fic, and I owe it all to you._

_I know this chapter wasn't very impressing --- in fact, I doubt if it was impressing at all --- but I just couldn't abandon the pattern of starting the chapter with the word "Fire" and ending it with the phrase "I/they saw fire." I actually wanted to end the whole thing with a kiss, but that structure prevented me from doing so. But then again, a kiss would be too cliche, or at least in my opinion. Despite that fact, I hope you still enjoyed this! If you want me to write a fanfic for you, feel free to post the plot in your review, including the pairing, and the song, if ever you want a songfic. I actually want to write more RK fics, but I just can't think of any more plots._

**Shameless Self-Promotion:** _I have other fanfics which you might want to check out, especially fans of the Sanosuke/Sayo pairing, and especially those who are bored. I'm not an experienced RK fanfiction author, so I need your advice and comments to get me going. The story IDs for my other fics are:_

_Don't Play With Fir__e (multi-chaptered/romance) - _1249328_  
__One Dream in My Heart__ (one-shot/songfic/angst) - _1290771_  
__She Nearly Was Mine__ (poetry/angst) - _1264694_  
__She Moved Me__ (poetry/drama) - _1237132

_Thank you very much and more power!_

**Fire** © Kaz, 2003


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